The Contrarian: Why Phil Taylor won't win the PDC World Darts Championship

Darts / The Betfair Contrarian / 18 December 2008 / Leave a Comment

Have the lights finally gone out on shot The Power's reign at the PDC World Championships? The Betfair Contrarian certainly thinks so, and will be laying plenty of the [1.62] available.

There was once a time when Phil Taylor winning the PDC World Darts Championship was the biggest formality in sport. Of the 12 tournaments that took place between 1995 and 2006, he won 11 and was beaten 7-6 in the final of the other.

However, that dominance has dwindled in recent years to the point where for the first time in the tournament's history, two years have passed without him hoisting the trophy. "The Power" remains a huge favourite [1.61] after another strong year but here are plenty of reasons why you shouldn't back him...

Last year's failure will weigh heavy on his mind

Prior to last year, Phil Taylor had made each of the 14 finals to have taken place in the history of the PDC World Darts Championship. That record came to a spectacular end when he was shocked in the quarter-finals by Wayne Mardle. The 11-time champion had a poor tournament throughout, being taken to a deciding set in each of the three rounds prior to his eventual elimination. As well as being the first time Taylor had failed to make the final, it was the second year running that he didn't go home as champion.

...and he's still adjusting to Ally Pally

Taylor admits that the moving of the tournament from his favourite haunt the Circus Tavern to Alexandra Palace may have had an impact on him last year. He said: "Yeah, it's different. It's big and the stage was massive last year, that was a big difference for us, but it's not going to bother us this year." While he feels confident that the venue won't be a factor this time, that remains to be seen, especially considering he scrapped his way through every round last time.

Steve Grubb is confident of upsetting Taylor

Taylor will face Steve Grubb in the first round and that won't be the easiest of starts. While Grubb has yet to turn professional, he is on the rise having beaten reigning world champion John Part earlier this year. The 40-year-old is confident of producing another shock and said: "I don't want to sound over-confident because I have more respect for Phil than that but I am confident."

Taylor isn't unbeatable any more

Just last month Taylor lost a final at the German Darts Championship to unfancied Dutchman Co Stompe, who had never previously won a PDC title. Stompe is still only ranked at 41 which shows that anyone is capable of beating Taylor on their day. It was also significant that while Taylor is often thought to be at his most vulnerable when he goes behind early on, against Stompe he squandered a 2-1 advantage by losing three straight sets.

The pressure may get to Taylor
Sky Sports commentator Sid Waddell wrote in his darts column that he believes Adrian Lewis, Andy Hamilton, James Wade, Robert Thornton and Mervyn King are all capable of putting Taylor under pressure and that he may struggle to cope with that. He said: "When he's under pressure, his muscle memory goes out of sync. He starts throwing his new short, heavy darts in the way he used to throw his old light knitting needle darts - especially in the area around the double 16. The last few times I've seen him under pressure he's been missing that area by about half an inch. That was the last area he got right with his new darts and his muscle memory sometimes lets him down in that part of the board."

And he may be trying too hard

Waddell also points out that Taylor's failures in recent years may make him too desperate to win and that, if he trains too much, there is a danger it will have a negative effect. He said: "Another factor is that Taylor possibly wants to win this too much and knowing him he's probably been doing 10-hour practices on the left-hand quadrant between the 11 and the 16. He might well have got stale from doing that."